Recently our 12/13 year old female Kakariki died leaving behind a grieving mate (same age). We believe the mate also to be female, but we are not 100% sure.
They lived happily together in an indoor aviary.
Since her death a couple of weeks ago the leftover Kakariki is screaming a lot and seems lonely. I try to give her more attention, but she is really not that interested in me.
Now I wonder what to do. Should I give her a new mate? she is not a young bird anymore, will that work out? And if so, should we get a young or an older bird? Also, what if we get another young Kakariki and this one dies....the whole sad thing starts all over again. I really donít know what the best solution is, how do other people handle this? Any suggestions? I would love to hear them.

12/13yrs is a good age for a kakariki to get to.
you say the other you are not sure if male or female.
There are many threads/ posts where people have posted pic asking. Also in the gallery further pics/ examples.
If still not sure, post a good pic showing the birds face.

Introducing a new bird early can cause issues occasionally, so best to wait like you have.

1st thing is to establish if you have a male or female bird._________________My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'

Thanks for your answer Steptoe...
I think she is a girl, but like I said, I'm not sure so I will post a picture.
I am talking about the green bird, the yellow one unfortanetly died not long after taking this photo. I know she was a girl because she died egg bound on the operating table. Their mating rituals were funny, they took turns playing "male", if you know what I mean.
Hope this is a good picture to see the shape of her/his head.
Thanks in advance!

Yes 2nd better.. A little full on of the face pic?
At that angle maybe female.
Also open up a wing and have a look at the underside.
A defined yellow stripe indicates female.
A faint broken stripe male.

If female I would look at getting another older female, possible from a local breeder where the female has become infertile.
If male, a young female. He will either finish weaning of, or may try to start to breed with her. If wean good.. if try to start to mate, a separate cage starting on the other side of the room, or next room so they start to talk communicate 1st.
Either way I would suggest to start in next room for few days.. get them calling talking .. build the relationship over a week or so.

If introduced suddenly, you are introducing another bird uninvited into their personal domain...it can go good or can often go wrong...agressional, territorial stuff.

When introduce in same cage, important that perches , toys, even location of where in room or even different room for a few days.

Thank you, that answer is a great help!
I had read about looking under the wing, but because she has always been so healthy [does not even need her nails clipped] I hardly ever handle her and I really do not want to stress her too much at this point in time. I been trying to look under her wings when she flies or flaps, but that is near impossible!
So, I'm sending two more pics hoping for more certainty. A full on face pic is really difficult to make, they seem to be always looking away.
I could make only one from above...
Still think female is most likely. She is about the same size as the other female was. Also the yellow bird was always dominant and would it not be more likely that it was the other way around if she were a he?

Never , never clip a kakarikis wings.. they get very upset for a long time

Quote:

I been trying to look under her wings when she flies or flaps, but that is near impossible!

If female with full strip, it can be seen as a flash while in flight while underneath.
Also give them some wild mint.. they use it to prune with.. while pruning they go under their wings.

I think female.. It has a beak that is not quite definite male or female.. we have had a couple birds like that over the yrs..mistook for males, because of exceptional size.
Dont rely on the size of the bird, that depends very much on it genetic heritage, if been hand raised or or parent raised, and that depends on the diet supplied._________________My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'

Nails...we have never clipped nails.. kakariki naturally have longer nails than most other species. We have had on numerous occasions have rescued kakariki from ppl who should not have pets... where nails got excessively long.. I was going to get around to trimming them as their health picked up. Before I could do so , they have nipped the excessive lengths off , once in recover mod.
So never actually had to do so.
Our sulphur crested and later king house parrots I would file the sharp tips down for our own convenience.. stop scratching us..bigger heavier bird, more grip on the arm, bigger scratches _________________My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'

I did notice that, the lenght of their nails and beak seems to be related to their health. Also plenty of branches and stuff on the floor they can dig around in help of course.
Over the last week I have made a real effort bonding with our lonely bird and I seem to be making some progress. She comes to me now and makes little sounds when I speak to her. Before she was just interested in her mate. I have not decided yet what we will do with her. We will take it slowly and see what comes our way. Thank you for all the good advice.

That sounds good...I had assumed that the birds where already tamed right down
Make use of the "Quick Search" block on the left Taming
A cup of coffee, a good book, a towel on bottom of the cage door ( makes your arm comfortable) and a apple slice, or mint.
And deal with any aggressive nipping very early..
details in older posts Quick search.

Keep in mind thu , kakariki are very independent by nature.. you co habit rather than have a cuddly pet. You have to give them a reason to interact with you... It is this independence thats the base reason they are not prone to loneliness feather plucking etc._________________My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou cannot attach files in this forumYou can download files in this forum